Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 301 Apprentice Swap Play
This kid has such a strong obsession with food...

Perhaps only Ye Tinglan among those present could somewhat understand her feelings.

Ah Nuo wants to grow taller.

Although she could only grow by consuming high-energy pills, no one could sustain that level of energy expenditure. Let alone a mere Lu Xingzhou, even the Tianyao Holy Land couldn't afford for anyone to eat pills like food. Anyway, humans do eat, and A'nuo ate with great gusto.

Anyone who dares to snatch Ah Nuo's steamed buns is not just stealing her hobby, but also stealing Ah Nuo's hope of growing taller.

Perhaps only Pei Chuyun has ever done this... and only Pei Chuyun and A Nuo fight all the time, while everyone else just smiles at A Nuo like an aunt. Ye Tinglan has yet to realize the true value of the little vixen.

It's unclear whether the person Ah Nuo was trying to steal the steamed bun from was Pei Chuyun... In any case, judging from the situation, the other person has already been beaten flat by Ah Nuo.

Lu Xingzhou still suffers from aftereffects after overcoming his inner demons, while A Nuo truly relied on herself to easily resolve all her tribulations.

The Tianyao disciples watching were blushing – this wasn't just a gathering of young people, but also many middle-aged individuals who had already broken through to the third rank. They reflected on their own tribulations back then, realizing they hadn't faced them as easily as a child, and that their tribulations hadn't been as severe as the others'.

All those years of hard work have gone to waste.

"Everyone, disperse. What are you looking at? Are you trying to add to your inner demons?" Ye Tinglan's voice echoed throughout the room: "There's no need to doubt yourself. Some people are destined to be special. If you're going to doubt that, then I wasn't as good as A Nuo back then."

The sect leader's words of comfort at least made everyone feel a little better. They secretly thought that this made sense. When the sect leader broke through to the third rank, she was already a great beauty, even younger than her younger sister who broke through at the same age. And now she's the number one in the world, isn't she? Her talented younger sister, on the other hand, supposedly encountered some problems later on and was stuck at the first rank for many years. A child prodigy may not necessarily be a great adult...

This kind of weirdo should be used to scare the people in the Grand Competition in the Sea. Why is our Tianyao Holy Land scaring itself?

People went back to sleep contentedly, even Feng Ziliu left. Only Ye Tinglan remained, looking intently at A Nuo: "A Nuo, come here, let your mother check your body."

Ah Nuo crossed her arms and backed away.

The next moment, Ye Tinglan grabbed him from afar and pressed him against her body for a thorough examination.

The examination results were as expected: "As expected... after bathing in the Jade Pool and absorbing the purest energy, you were able to break through directly, without any of the obstacles others faced. You are truly gifted. Speaking of which, your breakthrough in cultivation should mean your body has grown, so why hasn't it grown yet?"

Anuo was bewildered: "I don't know either. When I broke through to the fourth rank before, I didn't seem to grow much, I only grew less than an inch taller..."

Ye Tinglan cautiously offered a hypothetical question: "Could it be... that you'll remain solidified to this size forever, rendering any cultivation advancement useless?"

Ah Nuo almost burst into tears: "No!"

Even with all his experience and knowledge, Ye Tinglan couldn't understand what was going on with Anuo. Even demons wouldn't act like this.

If a demon remains a child despite aging, it's because their true form is an immortal being. Living to be over a hundred years old is equivalent to only a few years in human years. When they transform into human form, they naturally remain a child. However, this growth trajectory is very linear, unlike A-Nuo's situation. A-Nuo was able to grow normally by taking pills a few years ago, but now it has stagnated.

Previously, Lu Xingzhou had collected Xuan Snake blood, intending to study the illness caused by A Nuo being contaminated by demon blood. However, due to Lu Xingzhou's limited abilities, he couldn't make any significant progress in his research and had to put it aside. Now, seeing the situation tonight, Tinglan felt that this matter probably couldn't wait for Lu Xingzhou to handle it himself; it would require the intervention of their mentor, Mr. Ye.

She herself possessed the blood of the Xuan Snake and even more high-level demonic creatures, so she didn't need to ask Lu Xingzhou for it. She said, "In that case, come with me to the bedchamber, and we'll really study your body properly."

Ah Nuo hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Master doesn't allow others to investigate for me. Back then, when Sister Yu wanted to investigate, Master refused. That was probably the only thing Master refused Sister Yu in all those years."

Ye Tinglan was taken aback: "Why?"

"I don't know," Ah Nuo said. "Anyway, Master always means well for me."

"I'm your mother!"

“That also requires Master’s permission.” A’Nuo tugged at her skirt. “Doesn’t Master want to test his standing in Master’s heart? Master rejected Sister Yu in this matter, so wouldn’t he reject Master?”

Ye Tinglan blinked, then quickly became serious: "Alright then, come with me, I'll teach you some martial arts. Your current martial arts are too forceful, relying entirely on violence. It's not that it's bad, but it can't last. I'll teach you some techniques that combine force with gentleness..."

The older sister led the little girl away, chattering on and on.

However, Ye Tinglan was preoccupied with other people's disciples and didn't pay attention to her own.

Logically speaking, Dugu Qingli had stayed in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords many times, so there shouldn't have been any problems, but this time a little mishap did occur.

Lu Xingzhou was in deep meditation, trying to comprehend the essence of water. Alone in an unfamiliar place, his meditation was not very deep. Before he knew it, he faintly sensed the whistling of sharp sword energy coming from afar. Lu Xingzhou frowned slightly and opened his eyes.

The Ruins of Five Elements is adjacent to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords. There had been whistling sounds of sword energy before, but they were not obvious. This time, however, the sound was sharp and fierce, much like the feedback of someone fighting.

In terms of battle... isn't Little White Hair in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords at this time?
Lu Xingzhou, unable to continue his comprehension, immediately flew over.

Both the Tomb of Ten Thousand Swords and the Ruins of Five Elements are quite large, but fortunately they are flat tombs with little obstruction to the view. Before long, they saw the familiar little white-haired boy with a serious expression, his sword aura soaring into the sky, fighting against a sword in the void.

Logically, fighting a spirited ancient sword should be a standard practice in the Ten Thousand Swords Tomb, just like Lu Xingzhou's battle against the Ice Cold Will. This kind of battle is difficult because the enemy doesn't exist. This sword doesn't feel pain, isn't afraid of damage, and isn't afraid of frost. It only fails when its power is exhausted. Many of Little White Hair's conventional combat techniques are ineffective against it, so he'll likely lose.

But logically, this kind of battle wouldn't really cause any damage. Little White Hair is a direct descendant of the Holy Land. If he were to be truly injured by the soul of the Holy Land's ancestor, people would laugh their heads off.

As a result, Lu Xingzhou watched helplessly as the ancient sword's sword energy, sharp and incomparable, sliced ​​across Xiao Bai Mao's arm, leaving it covered in blood, but it didn't stop and continued to strike.

This isn't right...

Did Gu Jian really consider Little White Hair an intruder? Or was he seen as a traitor because he kept talking about the destruction of the Tianyao Holy Land?
So you can distinguish between loyalty and treachery; I misunderstood you.

Even as he internally complained, his body instinctively took action.

The ancient sword cleaved down with tremendous force, and Dugu Qingli parried with her own sword, but seemed unable to withstand the blow. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string. The sword continued its relentless slash, and a fierce glint flashed in Dugu Qingli's eyes. Just as she was about to grit her teeth and unleash a powerful technique, a sudden gust of wind swept past, and she felt a tight grip around her waist as she was pulled away.

Dugu Qingli's subconscious reaction was not resistance.

The feeling of that arm around her waist was so familiar, so familiar that it felt like a casual greeting, "Have you eaten yet?"

She had been hugged around the waist by the same person during the day...

"Clang!" The ancient sword swept past the two of them and struck the ground.

A fiery lotus floated on the sword, and the flames of judgment ignited around it.

The ancient sword trembled slightly, and for a moment it was unable to continue its pursuit.

"What's going on?" Lu Xingzhou asked.

Dugu Qingli was breathing heavily, her body showing signs of exhaustion from the fierce battle and trembling from her injuries.

But Lu Xingzhou felt increasingly uneasy. She was deliberately staring at the ancient sword and not turning to look at him... There seemed to be a suppressed anger hidden in her eyes as she gritted her teeth and said, "Let go."

The voice was icy and indifferent, sounding very similar to Xiaobai Mao's usual voice, but Lu Xingzhou still sensed a distance that was completely different from before, and even... a murderous intent.

It seems the current situation isn't Gu Jian's problem, but Xiao Bai Mao's problem... has he gone mad from practicing qi cultivation?
He was unwilling to let go; instead of letting go, he swiftly grabbed Dugu Qingli's wrist.

As expected, Dugu Qingli turned her hand, and the ice sword was already poised to stab Lu Xingzhou in the ribs, but he caught it with a swift, prescient gesture.

Their position was extremely awkward; his left arm was around her waist, and his right hand was gripping her wrist—a scene resembling a demon forcing a young girl. Dugu Qingli's eyes blazed with rage, as if recalling the humiliating "rape" she suffered in the Tian Shuang Kingdom. Her left elbow, still free, lashed out sharply: "Get out!"

Lu Xingzhou was prepared; his hands, which were wrapped around her waist, had already quietly slipped into Shui Ling's body.

The treatment plan seemed to be the same as the previous one, but the manipulation was more precise this time, directly targeting Dugu Qingli's wound.

The wound was numb and itchy from the treatment. Dugu Qingli gasped for breath, her elbow completely losing its strength and limply pressing against Lu Xingzhou's ribs, only to be tightly clamped under Lu Xingzhou's armpits.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The ancient sword was dumbfounded.

What are you doing in front of my grave?

(End of this chapter)